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San Francisco 49ers: Projecting Each Rookie’s Role in 2016

By Peter Panacy

Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Joshua Garnett (65) runs drills during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Joshua Garnett (65) runs drills during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (99) warms up during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (99) warms up during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensive End DeForest Buckner

San Francisco’s first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft will help reinforce and bookend an up-and-coming defensive line for this year and beyond.

Defensive end DeForest Buckner will join his former University of Oregon teammate, Arik Armstead, and look to make the Niners’ D-line one of the stronger units on a predominantly young squad.

Buckner makes up for what Armstead lacks — notably the pass rush. But these two are still commanding presences on the field and will work together to create a pocket-collapsing group, which will open up lanes for the 49ers’ other crop of pass-rushers.

Whether or not Buckner starts right away is another question.

A lot of this hinges on whether or not veteran nose tackle Ian Williams (ankle) is healthy enough to return from offseason surgeries. If he is able to go, San Francisco will likely employ a starting D-line comprised of Armstead, Williams and Quinton Dial.

This doesn’t mean Buckner will lose out on a good number of snaps.

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Projection

Buckner may not start in Week 1 even if Williams isn’t ready for the start of the season. He’ll likely be featured in sub packages for the majority of his rookie year, but these sets are frequently used by teams defenses in today’s NFL.

To put in bluntly, Buckner will get plenty of chances in 2016.

Yet if the rookie end showcases an extremely high potency during training camp and within the preseason, the 49ers may have little choice but to keep Buckner on the field as much as possible.

And that could easily be a good, good thing.

Next: Breaking Down 49ers Strengths, Liabilities in 2016

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.